Not upheld: corporate action payment processing delay complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained to HSBC about the delayed receipt of a cash element from a corporate action on shares held in his ISA. While shares were deposited quickly, the cash took longer to arrive, preventing Mr B from reinvesting promptly. HSBC and the FOS Investigator found the payment was processed within the required ten working day timeframe with no errors. The ombudsman upheld this assessment, finding HSBC acted fairly by passing funds to Mr B when received from the custodian and that no regulatory or procedural mistakes occurred, despite Mr B's preference for a faster timeline.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The appropriate regulations require payment to be processed within ten working days, which HSBC achieved. HSBC passed on the funds when they received them from the custodian, which is the expected procedure. No persuasive evidence of mistakes was found. While Mr B would have preferred a shorter timeframe, this does not constitute an error. These types of transactions require processing time and no unnecessary delays were evident.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website